We Arrive In Nice Monday April 4 to Thursday April 7

 Monday April 4th 

We took the TGV from to Nice today. Left on time, 10.26, arrived on time 4.07. Very comfortable and smooth. 

After our experience with suitcases and stairs in the Metro, we went by Uber to Gare de Lyon. It's so convenient, just press the button on the app, and you know when it will come, how long it will take and how much it will cost. No watching the meter, fumbling for wallets, figuring out tip.  And friendly. We've had good trips with Uber in the UK, Canada and France. 

The station was extra busy, being Monday morning, people coming home, or leaving for home after the weekend. Coffee and croissants at Paul's, and bought a baguette for lunch. Also bought a SIM card for my phone. My first time in Europe.  Now the fun begins, registering the number and topping up.  Quite foreign for me  

A mini rant on trains.  In Canada we started railways in the mid 19th century and we gave up on rail travel sometime around the 70's. I remember the Rapido between Toronto and Montreal was hailed as the new era of very fast trains. I took it many times going between Montreal, and Toronto to university. It broke down more often than not, usually in winter, leaving passengers in the cold. CN, then Via gave up touting trains as special, and concentrated on just trying to run them, gradually reducing the service.

In France, they started  railways about the same time we did, but never stopped developing them.  The trains here are frequent, te network covers the country and they are always fully booked. Reservations required on the main lines, out TGV stopped a few times, people left, and the seat was filled immediately  

 Had our traditional  TGV picnic lunch with wine, cheese, ham, nuts and chips. 

Nice and warm compared to Paris  when we walked out the station. Tram from station to the apartment and Dave our host was waiting outside and opened up for us.  

Apartment just as we remembered it, spacious compared to Paris standards, 2 bedrooms so we have a room for suitcases, and stuff that one needs to spread out. Like my travel guitar  

Walked down to the port, 2 minutes away.  We were anxious to see it because for the last few years it's been one giant construction site, building the terminus of the tunnel for the new tram going east - west to the airport. Huge undertaking that had most of Nice under construction  for at least 7 years, as we remember! Did a quick shop at the local monop and home.  

Shiny new red trams, and a view! 

View west from balcony 

View east from  balcony 

View from TGV by Cannes

Out TGV picnic 

Our Pauls breakfast 

For those interested in our apartment, 2 bedroom, decent size..second bedroom is our luggage and spread out stuff area. This is the second time here, the hosts Dave and Marg gave us an unexpected discount 🙂. They are  kind people and we hope to enjoy a couple of evenings with them and their two little girls, like the last visit 

Tuesday April 5 

Back into a relaxed routine.  Leisurely  breakfast and snd walked to the big carrefour for the first of many shopping expeditions to stock up the apartment for the month.

23 degrees at noon! 

In the small, connected world we live in, we have a chance perhaps to help one refugee from the Ukrainian war  get comfortable in Canada. 

My French language friend Daniel,  in Dijon France also corresponds with a lady from Kiev, who happened to be in Turkey on vacation when the war started. He asked me about computer jobs in Canada so I sent her the link to a Government of Canada page, which is very clear and positive about all the support available to Ukrainian refugees and how to go about applying. She has registered for a visa and is optimistic that it will not take long. She now needs to find a job.  Our son Martin is in the technology field and will be able to mentor her in terms of companies to apply to . At this point she doesn't care where in Canada, just as long as she can find a job and a place to stay.  

I cooked a batch of bolognese sauce for supper,  and leftovers. 

In the afternoon, we took a longer walk around the port.  Some pretty large yachts! 

This yacht was too large to fit in the frame. Looks oligarch-ic to me.  

Trams coming out of the tunnel.  A pretty huge engineering feat given that the buildings date back to the 18th and 19th century. This port has been around since the Greeks and Phoenicians traded, and the Roman's invaded. During construction they unearthed  many skeletons from the Roman era.  Also, in prehistory, from 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthals and first Homo sapiens lived in the caves just down from the port.  We've visited the caves many times.  

My bolognese 

Wednesday 6th April 

Market day! We went to the market in Vielle Nice (Old Nice) which is 10 minutes from our apartment  it's also the flower market. 

Bought leeks, potatoes, sweet onions, Lynda is on cooking duty today.  

Stopped into the supermarket on the return, the first few days when we arrive are always stock up days, bulk items like  tea, items for the next couple of meals, laundry soap, Kleenex, spices, etc and when you're carrying everything  up 4 flights of stairs, we tend to break up the shopping 🛍 into manageable loads! Oh, and wine bottles get heavier too at each stair landing.  

Our local square, Place Garabaldi 

Lunch on the balcony 

Lynda cooked leek and potatoes and cheese soup for supper with our market purchases. 

Thursday April 7th 

A big walk, from the old port, along the water and up the main street Jean Medcin to the larger market at Place de liberation. 

Not sure what was going on here

The war memorial 

The promenade d'anglais

David's bum 

David's naughty bits 

West coast cafe?  How BC are we! 

Place Massena

Jean Médecin, only tram and pedestrian traffic. Nice for safe strolling. 

 

Market at Liberation 

Lynda buying mushrooms 

The general

We were shopping for salad leaves, our "salad lady" who has been in the same spot every year since we've first visited, maybe 7 years, was, still in business. Regrettably, she had sold out.  She knows a thing or two about Canada.  And I mean 2.  It's cold, and there's Céline Dion.  We found our salad leaves at another stall with two friendly ladies. 

Walked back through the main park downtown that connects place Messina to the old town. 

Ok, so we live on 22 Rue Napoleon, named after the big man himself. For history buffs, Napoleons invasion of Italy which he started in Nice, was a turning point in French history.  1794 was still during the turmoil of the revolution. The leaders in Paris were a bit suspicious of Napoleon and thought they'd send him off, so as not to be a threat to them,maybe he'd win, maybe he'd be killed.   He won impressively. And his win was attributed to his skill of motivating his troops. He did this by Not treating them like dirt as all previous generals used to, because they were nobility, and soldiers were peasants.  Napoleon wasn't nobility, he was an "immigrant" from Corsica, spoke French with an Italian accent and understood the power of motivational speaking before Dale Carnegie. A current management philosophy, Look after your employees, and they will make you look good in return.  

And you now know how old our apartment building is.  

Because we had pizza and a half litre of wine for lunch at a cafe 🙂 we had a light supper of an onion tart/quiche, salad with balsamic vinegar from Nicolas Alziari Huilerie De La Madeleine in Nice.  We always bring some home with us. 

Observation: Gardens and Walls.  

In Canada all our houses are open to the street and we spend thousands of dollars on landscaping, grass, flowers and garden equipment. Unless you're rich, in which case you put a wall, or at least a very tall hedge around do no one can look in.  In France, all the houses, big or small, new buildings or old buildings are surrounded by a wall and a gate. No one can look in. 

After living through 2000+ years of wars, plagues, revolutions, the mind set is to protect your family and property, not show off your rhododendrons. Plus, no one can see how rich, (or poor) you are. No one can steal your SUV from the driveway or case your house to break in.  Or steal your Amazon delivery.